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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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LorinM Offline OP
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I am trying to pull together all my files that have been spread across several PC of many years.
Fortunately the hard disks were willing to let me gather files.

So now I have a dilema of knowing what to do with my files.
(1) Where do I put them?
Seems like it really does not matter.
They can all reside under the BB folder and BB will locate.
Is this OK?


(2) Where can I find a definition of all the file extensions?
e.g. .mp3 - is a common format music file.
but what about
.mgu
.mgx

and all the other?
Is ther a webpage that list and explains all of them.

I would like to categorize them: temporary, must have, etc. so I can better organize my files.

(3) I also see that some filenames are related by different extension types. Do these need to be kept together?

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Look under "File Extensions" in the help manual. Later, Ray


Asus Q500A i7 Win 10 64 bit 8GB ram 750 HD 15.5" touch screen, BIAB 2017, Casio PX 5s, Xw P1, Center Point Stereo SS V3 and EWI 4000s.
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LorinM Offline OP
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Well, I did and found nothing.
I searched for the exact phrase and "extensions"... nothing.
A little more help please.

Running band-in-a-box 2005.

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From the FAQs

http://www.pgmusic.com/techfaq10.htm


Explain the different file extensions that Band-in-a-Box uses for song files.

Band-in-a-Box song files end in a ?G? file extension.

If the song has a melody, the extension begins with an 'M'. If the song doesn't have a melody, it begins with an 'S'.

The second letter of the extension is always a G.

The third letter refers to the style that the song uses. 1-9 and A-N refer to the original "built-in" styles (for example, ZZJAZZ.STY, ZZWALTZ.STY) and U refers to a "User" style (actually, any other style).

Example 1: MySongTitle.MGU

The M tells us that the song has a melody.

The G is always present in song names telling us that it is a song.

The U tells us that the style is a user style.

Example 2: MySongTitle.SG1

The S tells us that the song doesn't have a melody.

The G is always present in song names telling us that it is a song.

The 1 indicates that the song uses Style #1, which is Jazz Swing (ZZJAZZ).

Another song file you may encounter is MGX. This refers to songs that contain an entire MIDI file on the Melody track. For example, if you had used File | Open MIDI file (Band-in-a-Box 2004 or later), or the MIDI file Style Wizard (Band-in-a-Box 12 and later).

The song files are quite small. This means that you can store hundreds or thousands of songs without using up too much of your hard drive space.

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You can put your song files wherever you like, since you have to locate them by the File, Open menu in BIAB. I do recommend using a folder under /BB so that your songs are not clumped in with all the demos and styles that ship with the program. For example, I have all my songs in one of two folders: /BB/Matt Originals or /BB/Matt Arranged. Then there are many subfolders in each of those two folders.

About the song file extensions, this is from the BIAB Help about Song Files:

Song Files
Song files end in ?G? extension.

If the song has a melody the extension will begin with M (otherwise it’s S).

The second letter of the song name is G.

The third letter is the style of the song, 1-9 and A-N for built in styles and U for a User style.

Example: My Song Title.MGU

The M tells us that a Melody is recorded.

The G is always present in song names telling us that it is a song.

The U tells us that the style is a user style.

Example: My Song Title.SG1

The S indicates that no melody is recorded.

The G is always present in song names telling us that it is a song.

The 1 indicates style #1, which is Jazz Swing.

The song files are quite small. This means that you can store hundreds or thousands of songs without using up too much of your hard drive space.



.FSO

This file contains info about favorite song/style set lists specific to Band-in-a-Box for Windows that have been saved under a user-defined name (with the .FSO extension.) These files allow the user to make "set lists" of favorite songs and/or styles in an organized fashion, regardless of their actual physical location on the computer system.



.WAV files.

If you have recorded an audio portion of a song, this gets saved beside the song (e.g. MySong.MG1 as a .WAV file called MySong.WAV).


[EDIT} Robb's post shows that you can often get the info you need in several ways: the BIAB Help, the FAQ, or by searching the forum.

Last edited by Matt Finley; 01/14/12 09:21 AM.

BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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The song file extensions are also under "song files", in the manual. Later, Ray


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Matt,

Fantastic to put that post...
I've been muddlying around a bit, but now
have the great link/source.

Sometimes when searching or looking for something
the correct word or words needs to be used.

Thanks for you extra efforts !


FrankB

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LorinM Offline OP
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Yes. Thank you!
The terminology is always the killer.
"oogling"is useless unless you know what to search for.

Thnaks again.

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LorinM, just a word about the style files (*.sty): they have to be in the bb folder.
My 2 cents.


Free tools for Biab:
Biab Scales and BIArpeggio to practice scales/arpeggio
Biab Explorer: the other song picker
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